Chromatograph output system suitable for use with process control



4 Sheets-Sheet 2 D. M. BOYD, JR CHROMATOGRAPH OUTPUT SYSTEM SUITABLE FOR USE WITH PROCESS CONTROL March 17, 1970 Original Filed Dec. 29, 1958 ATTORNEYS United States Patent Int. Cl. C06g 7/18 U.S. Cl. 328-127 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A system for determining a time integration of variable quantity signals or pulses such as provided by the output of a chromatograph. The varying quantity signals are passed through gating means to an analog-to-digital converter means which in turn provides digital signals to a quantity storage circuit. At the same time, the output or quantity signal is passed in parallel to a rate amplifier means which connects to the gating means in the system so that it permits transmission of the chromatograph output signals for only such periods of time that the quantity signals are changing with respect to time.

This application is a division of my co-pending application Ser. No. 783,365 filed Dec. 29, 1958, now U.S. Patent No. 3,458,691 issued July 29, 1969.

This invention is particularly adapted for use with apparatus for controlling a continuous process and particularly to a process control system which co-operates with the process to achieve an economic optimization thereof; in so doing such a control system both maintains processing conditions at a desired level and determines at what level the conditions should be maintained in order to realize a maximum profit from the operation of the process.

In many industries employing continuous flow processes, particularly in the chemical and petroleum refining industries where a raw material is treated to obtain an improved product, and in the electric power industry Where fuel or hydraulic or nuclear energy is converted into electric power, it is common practice to place under automatic control at least the significant processing conditions, that is, those operating variables which influence the yield or quality of the product. Process variables most frequently utilized include flow and liquid level for inven tory control, and pressure, temperature, specific gravity, thermal conductivity, refractive index, viscosity, dielectric constant, etc. for composition control; in addition, direct measurement of composition may be obtained by means of automatic stream analyzers such as the chromatograph or mass spectrometer. In the electric power industry Where the final product is energy, the variables of speed, torque, voltage, current, power factor, and frequency are commonly employed as indices of process performance.

Heretofore, the usual manner of operating a process has been to select arbitrarily, at least within design limits, a set of operating conditions and to place the desired variables under independent automatic control, maintaining them constant for long periods of time. Whatever changes in processing conditions are deemed necessary are done at the discretion of the plant operator whose decisions are based largely on a predetermined and often imperfect knowledge of process behavior; the interaction of the many variables involved is simply too complicated to permit an accurate determination by the operator of the changes required to keep the process running at peak efficiency, and in addition there may be outside disturbances 3,501,700 Patented Mar. 17, 1970 or subtle detrimental effects entering into the picture, the existence of which remains totally unknown to the operator until the performance of the process deteriorates appreciably. In consequence, as long as the human operator is charged with the duty of determining the level at which processing. conditions are to be held, it is difiicult, if not impossible, to maintain the process at maximum efiiciency; at the very least, the process will be operated at less than peak efiiciency for prolonged periods. Even if the actual performance is only a fraction of a percent less than the maximum possible, the economic loss resulting thereby may run into thousands of dollars during the life of the process unit; and of course, the larger the throughput the greater the loss.

The control system of this invention is applicable to any process in which a charge material is acted upon to yield a resultant product of different character than the charge material. The term process as used in this application is intended to encompass all such processes whether it be the generation of heat or electric energy, a nuclear reaction, a physical treatment such as distillation, extraction, crystallization, absorption, adsorption, etc., an inorganic chemical reaction, a hydrocarbon conversion process such as cracking, reforming, alkylation, polymerization, etc. or a complex combination of many individual processes. Depending upon the nature of the process, the resultant product may consist of a single physical stream comprising one or more compounds, a plurality of such streams, or a pure energy stream such as heat or electric power.

A good example of a complex process may be found in the petroleum industry where crude oil is obtained by a refiner and converted into such varying materials as solid phase coke, asphalt and paraffin wax to vapor phase methane, ethane, propane, etc. Multitudinous intermediate products including tar, heavy fuel oil, light fuel oil, varying grades of lubricating oil and grease, diesel oil, gas oil, kerosene, naphtha, gasoline, etc. may also be obtained and the relative amounts of any of these products that may be obtained from any given crude may be changed by the manner in which it is treated.

For example, a total crude oil may be simply distilled to separate the above mentioned materials in the proportions in which they occur naturally in the crude. When higher yields of one material are desired, it is necessary to convert the others into that material. For example, when more than the natural amount of gasoline is desired, the heavier portions of the crude such as gas oil, fuel oil, or kerosene may be subjected to thermal or catalytic cracking thereby increasing the gasoline yield at the expense of the higher boiling fractions. Similarly, lighter fractions such as ethylene, butene, butylene, propylene, pentene, etc. and combinations of these may be polymerized or alkylated to produce greater quantities of gasoline at the expense of lower boiling fractions. In all these processes, although more gasoline is produced, it is done at a sacrifice of total yield, that is, pounds of gas oil will produce less than 100 pounds of gasoline due to loss of material in such forms as coke on the catalyst and normally gaseous Waste material. Similarly, alkylation and polymerization processes result in yield losses. As a general rule, the more severe the conversion process, that is, the more extensive conversion required, the greater the yield losses.

By varying the processing conditions of such a process the proportion of the yields of the various products therefrom may be varied. Each of the products has a given economic value, depending upon the current market therefor; consequently at any given instant of time, there will exist an optimum product distribution such that the performance of the process is at a maximum. The performance criterion is simply the net dollar output of the proc- 3 ess which, in one aspect, is defined as the summation of the multiplication products of the quantity of each of the principal efiluent components multiplied by its corresponding unit value. Various modifications of the performance criterion will be discussed in the examples to follow.

It is an object of this invention to provide a process control system comprising commercially available control and computing elements, which system regulates the conditions at which the process is effected responsive to economic considerations so that the process yields the maximum dollar value of the resultant product per unit of charge.

It is another object of this invention to provide a process control system which maintains the process at peak efficiency in the face of outside, unpredictable disturbances to the process.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a control system which continuously experiments with significant processing conditions in order to seek out optimum conditions which cannot be calculated or otherwise be predetermined.

The manner in which the above and other objects are accomplished will be readily understood on reference to the following examples taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings; these specific example are intended to be illustrative rather than limiting upon the scope of the invention.

FIGURE 1 is a schematic view of a typical fluid catalytic cracking process operating in conjunction with the optimizing elements of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a block diagram of a particular embodiment of the optimizing apparatus employed in FIG- URE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a schematic view of a catalytic reforming process operated by a control system embodying this invention.

FIGURE 4 diagrammatically depicts a specific embodiment of optimizing apparatus, including the system of this invention, suitable for use with the process scheme of FIGURE 3.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG- URE 1 a typical fluid catalytic cracking unit wherein a charge stock containing relatively high boiling petroleum fractions is contacted with a fluidized bed of silica-alumina catalyst and converted into coke, kerosene, cycle oils, and normally gaseous material such as butane and lower boiling material. Raw oil charge is introduced in line 1 and combined With recycle material from line 24. Hot regenerated catalyst from line 2 is commingled with the combined feed in line 25 and the resulting mixture is passed through reactor riser 3 to reactor 4. The reactor efiluent leaves the reactor via line 9 and passes to main column 19 where it is fractionated into various components. Spent catalyst passes from reactor 4 through catalyst stripper 5 into standpipe 6, thence into regenerator 7 where coke is burned from the surface of the catalyst. Regeneration air is furnished by main air blower 17 through line 18, and the resulting flue gases leave the regenerator via line 8. A bottoms stream is removed from column 19 through line 20 and passed into slurry settler 21 from which a portion of the bottoms is withdrawn as clarified oil (not shown). The remainder of the bottoms passes through line 22, is combined with a portion of heavy cycle oil from line 23, and the total is recycled to the reaction zone through line 24.

Among the significant processing conditions which affect the composition of the reactor eflluent are reactor temperature and space velocity. Accordingly both variables are placed undetr automatic control, the former by means of temperature controller 14, the latter by means of level controller 10. Temperature controller 14 receives a temperature signal from thermocouple 13 and transmits a control signal via control line 15 to slide valve 16 disposed in line 2; by varying the amount of hot regenerated catalyst introduced into the combined reactor feed, the reactor temperature may be controlled. Level controller 10 is responsive to the level of the fluidized bed withing reactor 4 and controls the inventory of catalyst contained therein by transmitting a control signal via control line 11 to slide valve 12 disposed in standpipe 6; reactor space velocity may thereby be controlled by varying the spent catalyst withdrawal rate. Other processing conditions may be significant, such as the recycle flow rate and reactor pressure, but these are omitted here for the purpose of simplification.

The above mentioned components of the eflluent, for the purpose of the present example, comprise heavy cycle oil, light cycle oil, and gasoline and lighter fractions which are removed from fractionator 19 through lines 26, 27, and 28 respectively. The flow rate of each of these three streams is measured by flow transmitters 29, 30, and 31 and corresponding flow signals are transmitted by lines 32, 33, and 34 to the optimizing elements of the invention represented by box 40. Although flow measuring means 29, 30, and 31 are here shown disposed in the product streams immediately leaving column 19, it should be understood that they may be located anywhere within or following subsequent downstream processing facilities. Optimizing elements 40 receive two sets of inputs; the first comprises continuous analog signals carried by lines 32, 33, and 34; the second comprises predetermined signals 35, 36, and 37 which are representative of the unit value of the above mentioned product streams. The optimizing elements manipulate these signals in a manner to be hereinafter described and in accordance therewith adjust the set points of controllers 10 and 14 through control lines 38 and 39 respectively.

Before the process control system is commissioned, the catalytic cracker is brought up to steady state operation at some conventional set of conditions, for example, at an average reactor temperature of 920 F., a liquid hourly space velocity of 2.5 volumes of charge/volume of catalyst per hour, a combined feed ratio of 0.5 volume of recycle/volume of fresh feed, etc. Now when it is desired to obtain greater gasoline yields at the expense of total yield, the temperature at which the reaction is effected may be increased. Within certain limits the temperature increase will increase the gasoline yield, however, other valuable material will be consumed to do this. Therefore, oil, kerosene or lubricating oil fractions may be converted to unusable coke which would, therefore, represent a loss of a valuable product to obtain a gain of another valuable product.

The control system is then placed into operation and it functions as follows: Optimizing elements 40 multiply each of the flow signals 32, 33, and 34 by the corresponding unit value signals 35, 36, and 37 and add the products of these multiplications to obtain the total dollar value of the effluent; the total value is then retained in a memory circuit. The optimizing elements, through suitable output means, impose a predetermined step increase, for example 5 F., on the setpoint of temperature controller 14. After a predetermined time delay, corresponding to the stabilization time of the process, a new total dollar value is calculated as above and compared with the previous total dollar value; if the second dollar value is higher, a second increment of temperature is added, another predetermined time delay is allowed to occur, and another calculation of the total dollar value is obtained. Successive evaluations and temperature adjustments are repeated until an increased increment of temperature produces a decrease in dollar value, at which time the temperature setpoint is either held at its present level or returned to its last previous level. The output of optimizing elements 40 is then shifted to adjust the setpoint of level controller 10 and the reactor level is varied in the same pattern until its optimum level is found. When this is completed the process control system may again start with reactor temperature and repeat the entire sequence.

The various elements represented by box 40 are shown in FIGURE 2 which illustrates a simple special purpose digital computer comprised of standard, commercially available components. The major components required for the specific embodiment shown herein are:

(1) A multiplier input unit receiving value signals.

(2) A multiplier input unit receiving quantity signals.

(3) A multiplier multiplying each of the quantity signals by its corresponding value signal.

(4) A summation means adding the products of said multiplications.

(5) A memory means receiving and retaining successive summations.

(6) A computer which compares present and past summation signals and produces a digital signal in response thereto.

(7) Programming means which sequentially directs the computer output to each of the process condition condition control elements.

(8) Computer output means regulating the setpoints of the process condition control elements.

FIGURE 2 does not show certain standard elements which are required for the operation of any digital computer such as a clock pulse source, various pulse delay lines and gates. These have been omitted from the diagram to avoid any unnecessary complication; however, it is intended that such elements, the selection and placement of which are well within the knowledge of one skilled in the art, will be employed Where required in order to insure proper sequential operation of the above listed major components.

The predetermined unit value signals 35, 36, and 37, reflecting the current market value of the products of the process, are periodically introduced into value storage circuit 104 by way of punched tape, punched cards, magnetic tape, or by analog means such as a voltage signal derived from a voltage divider. The frequency of introduction will depend principally upon stability of the petroleum market, but new value signals may be addressed at any suitable interval, for example, once each day. Value storage circuit 104 may comprise magnetomechanical means such as a magnetic tape, drum, disc, or core, or electronic means such as a network of cascaded bistable storage elements. An example of a suitable storage circuit is shown in Figure 3-4, Chapter 3 of High Speed Computing Devices by Tompkins, Wakelin and Stifler published in 1950 by McGraw-Hill. Value storage unit 104 may include a plurality of the counters of FIGURES 34, one counter being employed for each unit value signal to be stored. The unit value signals, in digital form, are withdrawn from storage on demand and are fed to the multiplier by line 105.

Flow or quantity signals 32, 33, and 34 are introduced into a second multiplier input unit comprising multiplexer 101 and analog-to-digital converter 103. The multiplexer may be conventional gate-controlled, clockdriven diode matrix as illustrated in Figure 6-11, p. 475', of the March 1956 issue of Instruments and Automation. The multiplexer selectively channels a multiplicity of inputs into a common output, thereby permitting analog-to-digital converter 103 to be time-shared in the conversion of analog signals 32, 33, and 34 to digital form. The plate voltage of the multivibrator of Figure 6-l1 is activated by a pulse transmitted by lines 134 or 135, hereinafter described, of suflicient duration to allow visitation of each of the input channels. Line 133 is connected to the plate circuit of the final gating tube and furnishes a pulse to input control unit 111 signifying completion of the scanning cycle. A suitable analogto-digital converter is shown in Figure 153, in Chapter 15 of the above mentioned reference High Speed Computing Devices. Alternatively, the multiplexer may be omitted and a separate analog-to-digital converter would then be provided for each input channel. Quantity signals are sequentially fed into analog-to-digital converter 103 via conductor 102 and the digital equivalents thereof are sequentially transmitted by line 106 to the multiplier section.

The multiplier comprises a multiplication circuit 107, a product storage circuit 109, and an input control cir cuit 111. Suitable multiplication and addition circuits, as well as subtraction and division circuits are well known and are found in many forms. A suitable circuit for multiplier 107 is shown in Figure 13-26, in Chapter 13 of the above mentioned reference High Speed Computing Devices. Multiplication circuit 107 receives unit value signals from line and quantity signals from line 106 and sequentially produces, in this example, three multiplication product signals, one for each quantity signal multiplied by its corresponding value signal, which product signals are fed to product storage circuit 109 by line 108. Storage circuit 109 contains three product registers of the type shown in the above-mentioned Figure 13-26. Input control 111 is a gate circuit, such as illustrated in Figure 1326 of the above-mentioned reference, which is opened by a pulse from the last stage of multiplexer 101 via line 133; in this way, multiplication product signals are retained in storage circuit 109 until all inputs have been scanned.

When the input control is opened, the stored multiplication product signals pass through lines and 112 to a summation means 113, which may be a conventional countertype or coincident-type adder; here the multiplication product signals are added to yield a resulting summation signal which is simultaneously transmitted by line 114 to memory means 115- and by line 116 to comparator 118. At the same time the last previously calculated summation signal is withdrawn from memory means 115 via line 117 and transmitted to comparator 118. Memory means 115 may comprise a pair of binary counters, one of which is being addressed from line 114 while the other is being read out via line 117.

The computer section comprises comparator 118, univibrators and 122, and delay time 123. Comparator 118 is simply a subtraction circuit which subtracts the past summation signal (line 117) from the present summation signal (line 116). The comparator output is applied to the biased grid of univibrator 120 through line 119 and to the unbiased grid of univibrator 122 through line 121. A typical univibrator circuit is illustrated in Figure 5-15, p. 276, of the February 1956 issue of Instruments and Automation. If the comparison signal is positive, univibrator 120 emits a positive pulse which is carried by line 124 to the programming means hereinafter described; the positive pulse has no effect on univibrator 122. This positive pulse is also fed back through a suitable time delay 123, which may be a self-interrupting timer, via line 134 to trigger multiplexer 101 and initiate a new scanning cycle. The amount of time delay is determined by the process stabilization time and may vary from a few seconds to several hours depending upon the complexity of the particular process. If the above mentioned comparison signal is negative, univibrator 122 emits a negative pulse which is carried by lines 125 and 126 to the programming means; the negative pulse has no effect on univibrator 120.

Demultiplexer 129 and output control 127 together comprise the programming means of this embodiment of the invention. Demultiplexer 129 is a gate-controlled, dual channel diode matrix of the type illustrated in Figure 6-9, p. 474 of the March 1956 issue of Instruments and Automation. Lines 130 and 131 each contain two conductors, one carrying the positive pulse introduced by line 124 and the other carrying the negative pulse introduced by line 125. As long as no negative pulse appears on line 125 all positive pulses appearing on line 124 will be transmitted through the demultiplexer to line 130. However, if instead a negative pulse appears on lines 125 7 and 126, will be simultaneously transmitted through the demultiplexer to line 130 and also to the control terminal of output control 127. The output control is a pulsedelaying and inverting network of the type illustrated in -16, p. 276 of the February 1956 issue of Instruments and Automation. The resulting output of output control 127 is a delayed positive pulse which is transmitted by line 128 to demultiplexer 129, causing the demultiplexer to switch its output from line 130 to line 131. At the same time, the delayed positive pulse is fed back through line 135 to trigger muliplexer 101 into a new scanning cycle.

The computer output means comprises a separate digital-to-analog converted 132 associated with each process condition control element. One suitable form of digitalto-analog converter will comprise a conventional digital up-down counter having a plurality of output terminals to which is connected a resistive ladder network arranged to add the weighed potentials appearing at said output terminals, thereby producing an analog signal which is proportional to the count stored in the counter. Such a ladder network is described in US. Patent 2,718,634 issued Sept. 20, 1955 to Siegfried Hansen. A positive pulse delivered by line 130 increases the analog output of line 38 by small fixed increment; a negative pulse decreases the analog output by the same amount. If no pulse is present, the analog output is held constant at its last previous level. When the demultiplexer activates line 131, similar behavior obtains with respect to the analog output of line 39.

While this specific embodiment of the present invention is designed to accommodate three analog inputs and two outputs, it is within the broad scope of the invention to extend its adaptability to include any number of inputs and outputs. In particular, if it is desired to handle only one analog input and one output, considerable simplification will obtain thereby: Multiplexer 101 can be replaced by a simple diode gate, and product storage circuit 109, input control 111, summation means 113, and the programming means can all be eliminated. Furthermore, if the primary quantity-measuring element itself produces a digital signal as, for example, in the case of a turbine-type fiowmeter, then obviously an analog to-digital converter will not be required.

It is, of course, obvious that if it is required that a process condition be lowered to obtain its optimum value the process control system will lower it by increments rather than raise it by increments until the optimum value is obtained by finding the end of an improvement-producing series of increments. It is also obvious that certain maximum levels which may not be exceeded regardless of the product value may be established to prevent the process control system from exceeding the operating limits of the physical equipment or catalyst.

The above described fluid catalytic cracking unit is exemplary of a process which is itself an effective analyzer of the total product; and the instantaneous flow rates of the various exit streams, the compositions of which are independently controlled, are utilized by the process control system in evaluating the performance of the process. There are many applications, however, in which it is not feasible to adapt this method of control. Frequently the time constants downstream fractionation facilities are so long and the total process stabilization time so excessive that the performance of the control system would be seriously impaired if the system of FIGURES 1 and 2 were employed. Also, it may not be practical to control the composition of the product streams. Therefore, in such cases it is desirable to measure directly the composition of an effluent stream.

An example of such a process is shown in FIGURE 3 which illustrates a catalytic reforming unit wherein a straight-run or natural gasoline or a mixture of one of these or both of them with cracked material to produce a charge usually having an octane number in the range of 40 or 50 is treated with platinum-alumina catalyst,

preferably containing halogen, in the presence of hydrogen at temperatures in the range of 800 to 1000 F. and superatmospheric pressure to produce from the charge stock a gasoline fraction richer in aromatic hydrocarbons, highly branched chain hydrocarbons and lower boiling hydrocarbons all of which improve the octane rating and result in a product having an octane number in the range of 90. As in the previously described process, improvement in the product as the reaction temperature is increased is obtained at a sacrifice of yield of the higher boiling hydrocarbons, and it is therefore necessary to evaluate the improvement in terms of dollars and weight it against the product losses in terms of dollars.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, charge stock is introduced in line 201 and commingled with recycle hydrogen from line 219. The mixture is heated to reaction temperature in heater 202 and is passed through transfer line 203 into reactor 209 which contains the reforming catalyst. The reactor inlet temperature is controlled by temperature controller 205, which receives a temperature signal from thermocouple 204 and transmits a control signal via line 206 to throttle valve 208 disposed in fuel gas line 207. Although only one reactor is shown here, it is customary to provide several reactors in series with intermediate heating means disposed therebetween, each reactor inlet temperature being automatically controlled. Reactor effiuent is removed through line 210, partially condensed in condenser 213, and discharged through line 214 into separator 215. Liquid product is withdrawn therefrom through line 220 and is directed to downstream fractionation facilities. Since the reforming process is hydrogen-producing, net hydrogen is removed from the unit through line 216 while the balance of the hydrogen is continuously recycled via line 217, compressor 218 and line 219.

A small sample stream of reactor effluent is withdrawn through line 211 and admitted to an automatic vapor phase chromatograph 212. The sampling cycle of the chromatograph is initiated by a triggering pulse from optimizing elements 221 via line 225. The chromatograph can be calibrated to respond to any number of hydrocarbons in the efiiuent whether they be aromatics, isoparafllns, cycloparaflins, etc. In the present example the chromatograph is calibrated to analyze a measured sample for 3 hydrocarbons, for example, benzene, an isohcxane, and an isoheptane. The analysis may require from several minutes to an hour or more depending upon the type and boiling point range of the hydrocarbons being analyzed. During this time the chromatograph transmits to optimizing elements 221 via line 226 a series of discontinuous analog signals which are relatively broad, unidirectional pulses similar to normal error curves. Each signal corresponds to a particular hydrocarbon and the time integral of the signal is proportional to the quantity of that hydrocarbon in the measured sample. In many cases, particularly where the unidirectional pulses are symmetrical with respect to time, the peak height alone is a satisfactory measure of quantity and integration of the signals becomes unnecessary. Since the volume of the samples received by the chromatograph is controlled to a high degree of reproducibility, a quantity signal derived from the sample is equivalent to the total quantity of that hydrocarbon in efiiuent stream 210.

Optimizing elements 221 receive and integrate each of these quantity signals, convert them to digital form, and store them until the sampling cycle is completed. Predetermined value signals 222, 223 and 224, representative of the unit value of the three hydrocarbons being analyzed, have previously been addressed into the optimizing elements and stored therein. Each of the quantity signals is then multiplied by its corresponding value signal, the resulting multiplication product signals are added to yield a summation signal, and the optimizing elements incrementally vary the setpoint of temperature controller 205 through line 227 until the summation sig nal is maximized. With the exception of a different multiplier input unit and the omission of a programming means, the components of optimizing elements 221 and the trial-and-error method of operation thereof are identical to the process control system of FIGURE 2.

The various elements represented by box 221 and the inter-relationship therebetween are shown in FIGURE 4. The quantity signals from the chromatograph are intermittently transmitted during the sampling cycle by line 226 into a first multiplier input unit which comprises input gate 301, rate ampli,er 302, analog-to-digital converter 306, and quantity storage circuit 308. Input gate 301 serves to admit a quantity signal 226 to analog-todigital converter 306 via line 305 wherever the quantity signal is changing with respect to time, that is, whenever the chromatograph emits a signal. In one form, input gate 301 comprises a dual-grid gate or coincidence circuit, such as that illustrated in Figure 4-1a, Chapter 4 of the above-mentioned reference High Speed Computing Devices, whose output is used to back-bias a diode switch through a control triode; the circuitry for the diode switch and control triode is shown in Figure 3-16, p. 2115 of the December 1955 issue of :Instruments and Automation. The circuit of said Figure 316 may be simplified to include only one channel and one triode. Rate amplifier 302 is a conventional AC amplifier which produces an output only when its input is changing, that is, the plate circuit thereof includes an RC differentiator. Line 226 is connected to one grid of the dual-grid gate and also to the grid of rate amplifier 302 via line 303; the output of rate amplifier 302 is connected via line 304 to the other grid of the dual-grid gate. The simultaneous presence of signals on lines 226 and 304 generates a gating pulse which is applied to the grid of the control triode, activating the diode switch. Line 226 is also connected to the input of the diode switch, and line 305 to the output thereof; the chromatograph quantity signal is thus transmitted via line 305 to analog-to-digital converter 306. Each varying quantity signal is in turn converted to digital form by analog-to-digital converter 306 and transmitted by line 307 to quantity storage circuit 308, which stores the total count produced during the duration of the particular quantity signal; thus the signal stored therein represents a time-integration of the quantity pulse. When the integration is completed, the stored quantity signal is withdrawn and transmitted to multiplication circuit 312, and the quantity storage circuit is cleared to receive the next quantity signal of the present sampling cycle.

Unit value signals 222, 223 and 224 are addressed into a second multiplier input unit comprising value storage circuit 310. Multiplication circuit 312 receives value signals from line 311 and quantity signals from line 307, multiplies each quantity signal by its corresponding unit value signal and transmits the resulting multiplication product signal 313 to product storage circuit 314. When all of the hydrocarbons of interest have been analyzed, three in this case, input control 316 is triggered open by a pulse from quantity storage circuit 308 through line 332, and the stored multiplication product signals are transmitted by lines 315 and 317 to summation means 318. The multiplication product signals are added and the resulting summation signal is passed simultaneously into memory means 320 by line 319 and to comparator 323 by line 321. Comparator 323 subtracts the last previously calculated summation signal (line 322) from the present summation signal (line 321). The resulting comparison signal is transmitted to univibrators 325 and 327 via lines 324 and 326 respectively. A positive comparison signal triggers univibrator 325, causing a positive pulse to be Sent to digital-to-analog converter 331 via line 329. A negative comparison signal triggers univibrator 327, causing a negative pulse tobe sent to digital-to-analog converter 331 via line 330. Analog output 227 is thus incrementally varied upwardly of downwardly in response to the comparison between present and past summation signals. The comparator output is also fed back through delay time 328 and line 225 to trigger the chromatograph, thereby initiating a new sampling cycle and repeating the above sequence.

After the optimum reaction temperature has been sought out, the discontinuous nature of the process control system will cause the temperature setpoint to make small excursions about the optimum level, but the magnitude of the excursions will be so small as to have a negligible effect on the stability of the process. When the optimum level is reached, the magnitude of the comparison between present and past summation signals will be a minimum.

After the specific embodiment of the invention as set forth in FIGURE 4 is designed to act upon only one process condition control element, it may easily be expanded to accommodate a plurality of outputs, as in the embodiment of FIGURE 2, by including suitable programming means and additional digital-to-analog converters. Also, if process requirements so dictate, the process control system can be modified to accept in combination continuous analog quantity signals, discontinuous analog quantity signals, and digital quantity signals by providing a separate multiplier input unit appropriate for each class of signal.

I claim as my invention:

1. A method for integrating the analog output signal of a chromatograph, said output signal being defined by a series of unidirectional pulses, which comprises:

(1) differentiating said output signal and generating a gating signal responsive thereto which exists only when said output signal is changing in magnitude with respect to time;

(2) simultaneously converting said output signal to digital form;

(3) storing the resulting digitized output signal; and

(4) controlling the duration of said signal conversion and storing steps responsive to said gating signal whereby the total count stored represents a timeintegration of said output signal.

2. The method of claim 1 further characterized in that said differentiating step receives said analog output signal and subsequently passes a gated signal to analog-to-digital converting means whereby a resulting digitized output signal is transmitted for storage.

3. The method of claim 1 further characterized in that said differentiating step embodies simultaneously passing said output signal to an input gating means and to rate amplifier means connective with such gating means to thereby generate a controlled transmission of said output signal for storage only when said rate amplifier means senses such signal changing in magnitude with respect to time.

4. The method of claim 3 still further characterized in that said differentiating step receives said output signal as an analog signal and a resulting gated signal is subsequently passed to the converting step for the transmission of a digitized output signal to said storage step.

5. An apparatus system for time-integrating an analog signal defined by a series of relatively broad unidirectional pulses, such as that obtained from a vapor phase chromatograph, which comprises:

( 1) signal conversion means including analog-todigital converter means receiving said analog signal operative to produce a digitized output signal corresponding to one of said pulses and storage circuit means receiving said output signal; and

(2) rate amplifier means also connected to receive said analog signal and operative to generate a gating signal when said analog signal is changing with respect to time; and

(3) a gating means operatively connected with said signal conversion means and said rate amplifier means and activated responsive to said gating signal from said rate amplifier means for controlling said converter means, whereby the total count produced by said analog-to-digital converter means stored by said storage circuit means represents a time-integration of said one of said pulses.

6. The apparatus of system of claim further characterized in that said gating means is connected in the system as an input gate to receive an analog signal and to thereby transmit a gated output signal to said analogto-digital converter means.

7. The apparatus system of claim 5 further characterized in that said gating means incorporates a coincidense circuit which generates a pulse only when a chromatograph output signal is received simultaneously with a signal from said rate amplifier means.

8. The apparatus system of claim 5 further characterized in that said rate amplifier means is of an AC amplifier form and includes an RC diiferentiator means whereby said connecting gating means is controlled to release signals when said chromatograph output signal is changing with respect to time.

9. The appartus system of claim 5 further characterized in that storage circuit receiving the time integration of a quantity pulse is operative to transmit a resulting stored quantity signal at the end of a time-integration period and be cleared for a next quantity signal storage step.

10. A method for integrating the analog output signal of a chromatograph, said output signal being defined by a series of undirectional pulses, which comprises:

(1) differentiating said output signal and generating a gating signal responsive thereto;

(2) simultaneously converting said output signal to digital form;

(3) storing the resulting digitized output signal; and

(4) controlling the duration of said storing step responsive to said gating signal whereby the total count stored represents a time-integration of said output signal.

11. An appartus system for time-integrating an analog signal defined by a series of relatively broad undirectional pulses, such as that obtained from a vapor phase chromatograph, which comprises:

(1) signal conversion means including analog-to-digital converter means receiving said analog signal operative to produce a digitized output signal corresponding to one of said pulses and storage circuit means receiving said output signal; and

(2) rate amplifier means also connected to receive said analog signal and operative to generate a gating signal when said analog signal is changing with respect to time; and

(3) a gating means operatively connected with said rate amplifier means and activated responsive to said gating signal from said rate amplifier means to control the total count produced by said analog-todigital converter means and stored by said storage circuit means whereby said total count represents a time-integration of said one of said pulses.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,094,862 6/1963 Burk 328151 DONALD D. FORRER, Primary Examiner 0 B. P. DAVIS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 72-23.l 

